save the children - bangladesh
Images from my recent trip to Bangladesh with Save the Children who are supporting poor families affected by malnutrition and adolescent girls who are vulnerable to child marriage. Words by Emma Pryce @Save the Children.
Parents don’t usually marry off their young teenage girls out of cruelty or callousness. They do it because, in the toughest places in the world, it has often been seen as the best way to give their children a secure future. But the consequences for girls forced into child marriage can be devastating: abuse or neglect from a husband they barely know, early, dangerous pregnancy, and the end of their education and any chance of building a future of their choosing.
That was the fate facing 15-year-old Shumi, whose parents wanted to marry her to man she had never met. Shumi was against the marriage, and enlisted the support of Jasmin, a neighbour and Save the Children-trained peer leader who runs an advocacy group for girls in the village. Jasmin convinced Shumi’s family she didn’t need to be married and should complete her studies instead – now she’ll get that chance. “I want to be successful in life,” says Shumi. “Now I’ll complete my education and become a good human being.”
The story of Runa shows how one simple act of support has the potential to change the course of a child’s whole life – and the lives of those around them. When Runa received two goats as part of the programme, she bred them and soon had 15 goats. She then sold two goats and used the profits to pay her school fees and the school fees of her younger sister Shuma.
